Divine Moves
by JanTanner
Summary: A game between Gods whose moves change the very nature of the universe. Tzeentch and Q continue their game heedless of the lives they affect. All for their own entertainment and the chance to be the winner of a game with no goal.
1. Chapter 1

Space between space

Q sat in his chair before the two galaxies. A normal person might wonder what he was looking at. Tzeentch knew better. Both were beings of phenomenal power and being able to focus on the smallest actions taking part over an entire universe was a simple task. The Chaos God was far more interested in making his own move.

"If you'll excuse my impatience but I would like to make my own move now." The God said, "Your little ship will continue on it's merry way. I however am not so easily entertained by the actions of one crew and one ship."

Q looked up from where his gaze had lingered for a time, "Fine make your move. I suppose this should have happened when I gave Darrius a kick in the pants for not being entertaining." He said irritated at the lack of interesting things his own move was doing.

"I would but I would ask you assistance in this one. The subjects I want to move are so very difficult for my own powers to work with." The God said with a smile.

As much as his bird like face could manage.

* * *

Planet Umbrix

The planet of Umbrix was once a shining jewel in the Delta quadrant. It's people prosperous, it's cities gleaming, it's ships powerful, and it's people reasonable and kind. Had they had more time the Umbrixan's would have attempted to form an alliance with other nearby space faring races. To build a community that could stand against the threats of the Delta quadrant. The Borg invasion had ensured they had no such time.

Their gleaming cities had been destroyed by orbital bombardment. Their powerful ships laid low in orbit by the plasma beams and adaptive armor of the cubes. All their allies had fled long ago for fear of becoming the Borg's next target. The people fled the burning cities in fear as drones moves about and assimilated them. Their bodies useful to the collective due to a small trait that made them grow a few inches taller on average than other bipedal life forms.

A man ran down one of the many streets of the largest city. He was on the outskirts and every now and then he looked back to the horrifying sight of the city of Firaldin burning behind him. His breath came out in gasps as he struggled to stay ahead of the drones moving out from the interior of the metropolis. They never stopped or rested at all and every time he felt like he got away more would end up being teleported to somewhere near him.

For hours he had been running as best he could but his legs were starting to give out on him. The city still burned behind him as he slowed then collapsed in a small ditch at the side of the road. He had made it past the city limits and the Borg had finally stopped following him or appearing out of thin air around him. As he gasped for breath he looked about at where he was.

Woods and mountains to one side of the road, a wide open field to the others. Going back to the city was out of the question and going further down the road was also suicide as they only lead to population centers. He knew his only chance was heading into the mountains. If he was lucky he might even survive this assault. He told himself that but deep inside the man knew he was just delaying the inevitable.

Pushing himself up off the dirt he felt his muscles scream as he pushed them to keep moving. Standing up he heard a sound behind him and turned to see several Borg had teleported into the field behind him. He couldn't believe it, that the Borg would teleport drones to where he was solely to get him. It boggled his mind that they had nothing better to do then hunt him. It was then that he realized he and other survivors like him were the only ones left.

The realization utterly sapped his will and desire to run. Collapsing to his knees he felt his vision blur as all hope drained from him. He was so distraught that he didn't even notice the flash of light behind the Borg and the small army teleported behind them.

The Borg did however. They turned and faced the creatures that appeared out of nowhere behind them. The drone's processed the being's strange skeletal appearance along with the large pyramid behind them. Their sensors and sight all registered nothing before them yet the strange statues remained. Hunched over and not moving one inch. The drones were not concerned with whether or not they could move, just that their technological data would be added to the collective.

The Umbrixan watched from where he was. His shock had worn off when he realized he wasn't assimilated yet. The metal skeletons before him remained unmoving as the drones got closer. One the lead drone had stepped within a stones throw from the metal skeletons life finally activated within them.

From the large pyramid at the center of the group the crystal adorning it's top flared to life like a bolt of lightning had struck it. From there a wave of activity surged outwards across the small army of skeletons and other various metal things. Eyes that had been darkened by inactivity flared to life with a menacing green as the army stood upright. Creatures in back began to float in the air and even the pyramid started to move, it's crystal glowing brighter with each passing moment.

The man watched from where he was and couldn't help but curse his own luck that he managed to find something else that was as terrifying as the Borg. With the Borg you could see your people and others in them, giving you some false hope that they might be rescued from the collective. These things he could only describe as 'soul less'. He could help but smile however at the fate of the lead Borg.

Approaching it held out it's nano injector towards the first metal skeleton. It's design was far more detailed and maintained then the others. As the nano injector drew closer it raised it's staff in the air, revealing blades attached to the bottom, and without pause or hesitation stabbed the drone through the chest. Lifting up the struggling Borg it charged it's staff with the same green lightning the Umbrixan saw in all their weapons and blasted off the drone clear over the road and sending it crashing into the woods behind him.

The other drones fared no better as the metal skeletons activated. The closest ones faced the sharpened blade at the tip of their glowing weapons. With inexorable slowness the creature raised it's gun into the air. Before the Borg could inject the nano probes into it the weapon was brought down cutting deep into should. The force of the impact caused the Borg's legs to buckle and fold as it was smashed to the ground.

As the Borg were getting cut down the metal skeletons lined up their weapons and opened fire. Green lightning arced out from the tips of their weapons and every Borg hit fell back to the ground. The Umbrixan saw that parts of the Borg's body were simply gone replaced by a red and black mist. He waited for the moment when the Borg would adapt to the strange energy weapons but as he watched more and more get cut down he saw no shots harmlessly being absorbed by their ability. When one of the metal skeletons turned it's head towards him he realized that he should never have stopped running.

Queen's vessel

The Borg queen waited silently in her ship. Her torso unattached and her head floating amidst the machines of the ship. She quietly listened to the sound of her drones assimilating the planet. Their assimilation going smoothly and requiring no direct guidance from an independent mind.

While unattached to her body she entered a pseudo sleep state and simply listened to the sound of billions of drones working around her at all times. To humans it would sound like billions upon billions of voices all talking to them. To the queen it sounded like the sound of a lullaby.

Her very existence was a contradiction to the Borg. An individual given the voice and drive of the collective. By the very tenants the Borg adhere to she should not exist, yet she did. As she felt her head begin to move and her slumber awakened the reason for her existence became clear once again.

The hive couldn't ever fully react to everything. It was impossible for their unified voice to do many things. She and others like her were created to fill those gaps. Islands and shoals within the maelstrom of the collective voice. When addressing powerful species she would speak with a single voice to unnerve and demoralize, when addressing individuals too strong to assimilate she would persuade or influence, and when dealing with forces that the could not overwhelm she would guide.

As her head was lowered she felt her spine connected with her body and feeling rush into the customized torso she had designed. She opened her eyes and saw the interior of her ship before her. Her head tilted slightly as she heard the sounds of the Borg as they died in a small part of the planet.

She had been vaguely aware of what was happening during her slumber but as she awoke the information was directly sent to her mind. Yet screens opened before her and she could reach out and touch them to give orders to the collective. It was a useless and inefficient means of order but reinforced the individuality of the queen. Her presence meant that the collective had encountered something they could not simply overwhelm.

She saw through the eyes of a drone the force before her. Their leader's own eyes meeting hers. As they made eye contact she could feel the force behind their merciless glow. It was a force of will on par with the collective as a whole. Pulling her vision away she ignored the implication of what she saw. They were few and the collective would win through sheer force of numbers.

With an instant mental command she had several of the cubes move to orbit over the capital city. From there teleporters were activated and began sending down tactical drones. Far more armored and weaponized than the other drones they were designed solely to fight rather than assimilate.

The Umbrixan watched from the treeline as more flashes of green spread across the field. The Borg had now arrived in force as hundreds of drones he never seen before approached the metal skeleton's lines. A ripple of lightning shot out from their position and struck down these drones like the ones before. Unlike the previous ones, these drones now fired back.

Arms that would normally hold tools and assimilations devices had now fitted weapons. The green blasts of energy shot forward and stuck into the metal skeletons lines. Several even fell over from combined fire as the warriors returned fire with their own lightning. The Umbrixan couldn't tell what was going on, just that it all looked very green.

It was then that the more ornate warrior stepped forwards. Blasts hit off his armor and never slowed him down as he raised his staff into the air. A beacon of light shot forth into the sky and the Umbrixan watched as the Borg tactical drones' weapons failed to fire. Some on the outskirts of the battle could still fire but the large force of the them near the lord were left with no weapons. Their opponents had no such hindrance.

Fire shot forth from their lines again and struck down the Borg before them. Now the pyramid added it's own weapons to the fight as turrets at the corners of it rained lightning down upon them. The glowing crystal atop flared to life and the Umbrixan was blinded by a bright light followed by his ears becoming defened by the sound of a thunder clap. As he rubbed his eyes he looked and saw a massive crater where a large mass of Borg had been.

More Borg began beaming down further away. It was clear to everyone that the metal skeletons had the advantage in close combat. The Borg were an ungainly race even at the best of times and their close combat consisted of injecting nano assimilators into their target. Dodging cuts and melee weapons was never considered because even with an army they would eventually fall to the onslaught of drones.

The metal warriors were different. Not only were they stronger in combat but they had a balanced force as opposed to the army of drones with guns. Thin spindly machines would weave in and out of their lines using clawed fingers to eviscerate the drones. Floating skeletons with their lower half replaced by a elongated thorax like machine would rain rapid fire shots within the drones lines. Even a giant metal creature that looked like a cross between a spider and a beetle floated amongst the battlefield.

The spider beetle was the most fascinating to the Umbrian. It had a gun and would take it's shots alongside it's metal brothers. Unlike them it would spend it's time moving amongst the damaged warriors and actually fixing them. If the warriors fell it would float over with a casual indifference to the shots hitting it and begin fixing the machine with hands.

It was becoming clear to the Umbrixan that these strange metal skeletons were winning. Even when one was brought down from sustained fire it was repaired by the spider beetle almost immediately. There were times the man saw the wounded warrior fix itself by attaching it's severed limbs and letting them repair themselves. All the while the large pyramid floated ominously in the center of the force raining down blasts of lightning from it's central crystal.

It was when he had that thought that fire began to rain down from the sky. While he couldn't see it the green plasma bolts came from the cubes in orbit. Each one detonated like a bomb amidst the army. Even as destruction was sown across their lines the warriors never stopped firing at the neverending wave of drones. What amazed the Umbrixan was watching as the pyramid withstood several shots from orbit before finally falling. His own people's ships barely stood up to two and this thing a fraction of the size could endure far more than three of his species' ships.

As the shots blew apart the metal warriors the man saw something miraculous happen. As their battle line faltered then failed they didn't run, the metal skeletons simply started to vanish. One after another they faded out of existence until all that was left was the pyramid and the ornate leader were left. The two were now surrounded on all sides by drones and the pyramid was broken and damaged after the rain of massive plasma blasts.

Turning around the leader of the metal warriors simply turned and walking into an opened threshold in the pyramid. Within the Umbrixan could see a swirling green vortex of energy with no clear destination. As the leader walked in he melted into the vortex and disappeared. When the leader was gone all that was left was the pyramid and that too faded out of existence leaving the army of drones standing in a wrecked field of parts and debris.

Orbit

The queen watched as the army faded from existence and left the field with only parts and wrecked pieces behind to indicate that they had even existed. The planet was almost entirely taken over by this point and the only source of resistance had been with the metal warriors. She recalled the moment she made eye contact with their leader and a feeling bubbled up from deep inside her human parts. It overrode the collective's thoughts and wormed it's way back into her consciousness. She recalled the eyes and the power that lurked behind it and she felt dread.

The collective had no such feeling and began to work with diligence only rivaled by insect hives. She felt her torso begin to detach and her head begin it's shut down procedures in preparation for slumber. As the cables attached to her shoulders and brought her up she could still feel the dread from those eyes as they seemed to have bored into her mind. As she felt the voices of the collective fill her thoughts once more a single repeating word echoed over and over within the chorus.

"Necron"


	2. Chapter 2

Space between space

"I wonder…" Tzeentch mused as he looked at the two spiral galaxies.

"Wonder what?" Q asked.

"I am just forming my next move, I believe it is your turn regardless." The chaos god said.

"Your last choice was fairly entertaining so I'll allow you to take another turn because I'm magnanimous like that." Q replied with a smile.

"I'll ignore that quip… and start my next move." Tzeentch said.

A single light shot from the bottom galaxy upwards to the top. Q glanced at an image he formed himself. He brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his chin as he puzzled over the choice.

"Rather uninspired isn't it?" He asked as he looked at the demon Tzeentch sent to a Federation planet.

"While I'm sure they're likely to end up burning under your Federation fire I would like to see how well my minion does." Tzeentch said with a smile.

Hakton VII

A quiet night had settled over the Federation colony as people started to head to their homes after work or time in the bar. It wasn't like a lot of Federation colonies nearer to earth with their gleaming cities and straightened Starfleet uniforms. Hakton VII was much rougher around the edges. Unlike the core worlds of the Federation Hakton VII still had a lot of problems to iron out.

One of those problems was currently being worked on by Derrak. He had spent most of the day up in the observation tower in the center of New Barossa the largest settlement on the planet. The tower was designed to locate meteors and notify people when they approached. The planet's atmosphere wasn't nearly as strong as Earth's so more spacial debris managed to make it through. When the observation tower wasn't working every day had more risk than necessary

"You get that tower fixed Derrak?" A voice said from below.

The man slid out from under the console and looked down the stairs, "Almost, just have to reapply the couplings and we should be back in business." He said turning around to do just that.

A few seconds later and the console lit up and the beeps and chimes of the detection system filled the tower. With a nod Derrak smiled and started cleaning off his jumpsuit from all the dust it gathered over the day. Pulling out a comb he ran it a few times through his pure white hair clearing out the dirt and grime that had gathered there as well.

As an Efrosian his white hair was a source of pride for him and he worked to keep it clean despite the dirtier nature of the colony. He hadn't grown one of his race's signature white mustaches yet but it was more due to the difficulty he have in keeping it clean out along the border. His hair was enough trouble.

"Hey Derrak I'm getting in some of the data we couldn't receive over the course of the day. Most rocks missed us by a wide margin but the Buller family looks like they had a near miss about an hour ago. Do you mind heading out there and checking in on them?" The man asked.

"Ms. Buller always was the best cook in the colony and they always like company. Sure I'll head over." Derrak replied with a smile as he walked down the stairs.

"Thought you might, enjoy your free meal." The other man said slapping Derrak on the back.

He headed out immediately from the base of the tower. The town of New Barossa was a good sized settlement so he had to hurry to get to the Buller's resident on the outside of the city limits. The city layout was set up in a grid pattern so it was nearly impossible to get lost as long as you knew the general area of where you were heading.

As he passed by houses he admired the architecture of the buildings. Most were made out of cut stone as it was the most abundant resource they had. The dark reds and browns of the stones were complemented by the reflective metal attached to every house in the town. Since there were more meteor strikes here every house had a reinforced ceiling to help prevent any of the rocks from breaking through the top.

As he jogged through the city he eventually came upon a dirt road leading out a ways from the city. The Buller's were farmers and their house was located in the middle of their farmland. Anyone wanting to visit them had to be prepared for a bit of a trip to get to their home. Derrak appeased himself with the thought of their great cooking and began to make his way down the darkened path.

After a few minutes he could see the lights of their home in the distance. He let out a small sigh of relief as he saw both their home and their barn intact and undamaged so it was unlikely the rogue meteor hit anything beyond farmland. What caught his eye was the sign of something dragged from one of the fields into the nearby barn. He couldn't imagine that it was the meteor as anything large enough to have to have been dragged would have leveled the surrounding area.

He shrugged off his confusion and headed up the steps of the house. He knocked twice then waited on the porch. With no response he knocked again wondering if anything was wrong. When he heard the hurried footsteps of someone from the back out the house he let himself relax again as the door opened and Mr. Buller appeared.

"Yes? What… what is it?" He asked in a hurried tone.

"Uh, it's just me Mr. Buller." Derrak said, "We got the observation tower up and running again and I saw something touched down a little ways from here. I came to check up on you."

Mr. Buller looked back and forth behind Derrak for anyone else before slowly closing the door as he replied, "Yes, we're fine. No need to worry, move along now." He said.

"Are you alright Mr. Buller?" Derrak asked as he watched the man nervously twitch.

"Yes yes yes I'm fine, now please I have work I have to do so-" He started before a soft female voice in back could be heard.

"Daddy… maybe… maybe Derrak would like to help us?" The voice asked.

Derrak smiled at the pleasant voice. 's daughter Melody stepped forward behind her dad and whispered in his ear. Derrak noticed her glancing his way every now and then while she apparently tried to convince her father to let him help with whatever they were doing. While they talked he admired the view of the human girl. A few years younger than him she was nevertheless a fair sight to behold. Her curly blond hair went past her shoulders and she had a beautiful body from working the farms each day.

Eventually her father grumbled and headed back into the house nearly speed walking away to get back to whatever work he was doing. The door swung open and Derrak was greeted by Melody in her work clothes. A simple pair of pants and t-shirt designed to be durable and rugged to help with the work in the fields. As she gave him a winning smile Derrak attempted to refocus on the reason he was here.

"So… there… there was a meteor that touched down here. I wanted to check on everything and make sure you're alright." He said, "It seems like nothing was damaged though."

"No, but something did come down!" Melody said, "It's… amazing, you have to see it. Daddy didn't want to share but I know you'll want to see it."

She reached forwards and took his hand in hers. He could feel the warmth of her body in his hand and felt himself blush slightly at her forwardness. Watching her face blush a little as well he could tell she felt it too. He had always like Melody, him and half the colony, and it seemed that she felt the same way too.

"Melody… I…" He began but found his mouth held shut by her soft finger.

"Shhh… I know, I want to show you it. I didn't know before but it told me, showed me things, showed my future… I want you to know too…" She said.

She pulled on his hand and led him into the house. Derrak wasn't sure what was going on. He knew something was wrong but he was on cloud nine just from holding her hand. Somewhere deep within his mind a voice was screaming at him about how she was acting and how she wasn't like this. His reason was drowned out in a sea of euphoria as he followed her out the back door and towards the rear entrance to the barn.

At the edge of the barn she stopped and turned around towards him, "Wait just one moment, I want to make sure it's ready." She said before dashing into the barn.

Derrak was left smiling for several long moments before the euphoria started to wear off and he was left outside, in the dark, near the back of their barn wondering what the hell was going on. Now that he wasn't constantly thinking about Melody he began to wonder what he saw in her eyes. They looked frayed, nervous, and somewhat twitchy. Like a Starfleet cadet that had been up all night studying for his final.

He wasn't able to piece together his thoughts fully when Melody returned. She grasped both his hands and looked him in the eye with an almost frenzied stare. Even the lightheadedness of holding hands with the most attractive girl on the planet couldn't hold back his mind from sending warning signals to him.

"It's alright, it wants to see you!" She said tugging on his hands.

"Melody… what is this." Derrak asked holding himself back.

"Derrak, you want to see this! It's amazing! I swear you'll-" Her excited ramblings were cut short but a completely otherworldly voice that emanated from inside.

"Hush little girl… he must choose to meet me willingly." It said.

Derrak felt his eyes widen at the sound. He didn't know what it was but the voice refused to be labeled by his brain. Every time he thought he could finally describe it something changed about it and it left him just as stumped for a description as before. The only thing he could manage was that it terrified him to his very core. It was then he felt warmth on his hands and managed to focus on Melody holding his hands in hers.

"Derrak… it's OK…" She whispered, "I was scared at first too… but then."

She gave him a gentle tug on his hands and Derrak felt himself being drawn into the barn. Turning around the corner he saw fully the creature that had spoken earlier. Massive wings adorned it's back and connected to a feathery humanoid torso. It's long spindly legs were crossed in front of it as it sat against the wall. It's arms were lanky and ended in a clawed hand. It's head was more like a birds than a humans and it was attached to a long serpent like neck. It's entire body was covered in a robe of a white, dirtied by mud and ash, with embroidered gold trim.

"W-What…" Derrak tried to ask.

"What am I?" It finished for him with it's unnatural voice.

Derrak had seen aliens before. Regarding Melody he was the alien. What stood before him utterly destroyed what he viewed the word alien as. It was so far beyond what he was used to that it's very existence seemed like anathema to his views of the universe. It was upon his second view of the creature that he noticed something about it.

It's robe was tattered, it's wings battered, and from what it looked like it had several injuries that had once been bleeding. He also noticed it's hand moving in a lazy manner. A small wisp of blue flame danced around it as it's fingers moves. Derrak then saw the rest of the Buller family sitting in front of the hand staring up at it with dead eyes completely mesmerized by it.

The creature followed his line of sight and gave what Derrak could only assume was a smile, "I would not worry about them. A simple trick to keep them occupied. I wanted to speak with you." It said.

"What are you…" He asked feeling his thoughts start to organize themselves.

"Something unworldly." It replied.

"That's… not very helpful." Derrak said.

"Any answer would be useless without proper context. You lack that context." It replied.

"Then… what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was sent here… to guide." It replied.

"Guide?" He said.

"Yes… to guide. I was sent here by my master to show you the way to greatness." It said.

"What does that even mean?" Derrak asked getting somewhat irritated by the lack of straightforward answers.

"I will show you." It said reaching it's other hand towards him and Melody.

In the next second the Starfleet officers vision was filled with the sight of millions upon millions of glowing threads branching outwards from him. He looked down at his chest to see they all converged into his chest. As he followed them out the barn around him vanished and all that was left was the creature before him and Melody at his side.

The threads spiraled outwards from him and vanished off into the distance. Melody had her own threads and as he followed those out from her he saw masses of them connect and weave into his own. She was watching him, her arm around his own, rather than the miraculous thing that was before them. He then realized that this was likely what she wanted to show him.

Reaching a hand up he gently tapped one of the many threads and his vision was filled a second time. Flashes of a life before him flooded into his mind as he saw him leave this planet and head out into the stars. Moments of joy, moments of sadness, and even the sight of him sitting in the captains chair of his own starship. Pulling away at the shock of the visions he tried to shake the mental pictures out of his mind.

"Do you see now…" The creature asked.

"What… was that… me?" He asked.

"A version of you. Were you to follow, it would lead you to where it showed." The creature said.

"Do you see Derrak?" Melody asked, "It can show us our future! We can follow any string we want! We could be any of those things!"

She took his hand in hers and led it to one of the many strings that intertwined with her own. His mind was once again flooded with visions of the future. Both of them standing together as they married, living together in peace on Hakton VII and even of them with grandchildren. The visions flew through his mind including several that made both him and Melody blush at the sight.

"You can predict the future!" He said in awe.

"No." The creature replied flatly, "I can show you where it might lead, but every second that goes by changes the future for you. Like moving a hand across a spider web. You can see the threads but as you move they change and break. I can only show you the thread, not how you move your hand through it."

"Why?" Derrak asked, "Why show us?"

"Because more than anything… my master wants you to believe in his power." The creature said.

Inside Derrak's mind his reason was becoming louder and louder every second, "No… this… something is wrong here." He said taking a step back.

He pulled away from Melody and the visions faded around him. He was back in the barn again and he could see Melody before him, her eyes clouded over with the same energy the creature was manipulating in it's claws. She took a step towards him causing him to back away again.

"Derrak please…" She said.

"No… something is wrong here." He said trying to focus his mind, "You've never acted like this… you've never been this close to me.. you've never…" He looked up at the creature sitting in the barn, "You did this to her! You made her like this!"

The result of Derrak's accusation was immediate as the demon stood up and flared out it's wings. The energy in it's claws took on a dark red hue as it stepped forwards. It was then Derrak realized how dangerous it looked as he fell backwards onto the dirt. It's voice screeched inside his mind and inside his ears as it bore down on him.

"FOOL! I AM NO DAEMONETTE OF SLAANESH! I DO NOT WORK THROUGH DEBAUCHERY AND HEDONISM! I AM A GREATER DAEMON OF TZEENTCH AND…" It screamed before pausing and calming itself, "Forgive me I forget you know not of what I am."

It walked back towards the barn and sat down against the wall again. The energy that had grown dark and sinister returned to it's more peaceful color. Lastly it let it's wings fold back to their resting position. The exertion from standing and unfurling it's wings had taken its toll as several of it's wounds opened up again and were bleeding.

"What I did to the girl was no more malicious than showing her what could be. Her desire to mate with you is of her own volition. Perhaps she saw something in you when she looked at her own fate." The creature said.

Derrak tried to calm himself after what just happened when he felt the soft hands of Melody on his arm, "I'm sorry… I hours looking at those threads. I felt like we had spent our days together for years I was so lost in them. Every one I saw made me happy. I feel like when I look at those futures anything is possible. Even us." She said with a smile.

Her eyes were unclouded by the magics of the creature and Derrak couldn't help but feel his reason drowning in the memory of what the thread showed him. There were so many threads, so many different outcomes, that his curiosity was eating away at him. He wanted to know more, to see more, and as he stood back up, his hand linked with Melody's, he looked at the deamon with resolve in his eyes.

"Show me…" He said.

Weeks later

USS Hood

"What do we know about the situation sir?" The first officer asked as he walked down the corridors with the captain.

"As far as we can tell we've lost contact with the Hakton colonies. Two weeks ago they stopped transmitting communications and the colony went dark. At first we thought it was simply another meteor hitting the relay but after several days of nothing we sent a ship over to them." The captain said.

"Thats when they opened fire?" The first officer asked.

"Thats when they opened fire." The captain replied, "So we're here now outside orbital range of the planet and waiting for those MACO you were supposed to bring."

"Yes… a rather surly bunch at the best of times." The first officer replied, "Apparently they were working with the men of that 'other' Enterprise doing drills and the like when we showed up to collect them."

"I know… I get the MACOs desiring to distinguish themselves from Starfleet but to hold hands with that backstabber leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Well it's a planetary mission that our security forces can't handle so in they go. Let's hope the training they did with the Enterprise troopers is worth their sullied reputation."

"I can't understand why Starfleet even bothers with them." The first officer said, "They're an outdated service branch that really had no place in this universe."

"It gives us a place to put our problematic security officers." The captain said with a chuckle.

New Barossa outskirts.

Nighttime

The forest around New Barossa were very much like the earth forests of the Federations core world. Trees growing upwards and spreading their leaves outwards to form a canopy overhead. Thick bark and sturdy roots grew downwards to absorb rain and nutrients. The only difference was the utter lack of low hanging tree branches and a pitch black bark at the base of the tree. The constant meteor strikes caused forest fires for years and the trees adapted to the constant fire by having burnable branches higher and secreting a wet sap whenever the heat spiked drenching the base of the tree.

This meant there was an abundance of clear areas for the Mako's to beam down into as much of the foliage on the ground would get burned away. Flashes of light and the soft beaming sound and three dozen men were standing in the forest with weapons at the ready. Their night visors were on and had come a long way since the first versions that effectively put a giant glowing spotlight in front of your face for someone to shoot. The group spread out and quickly formed a perimeter while the commanding officers went over their orders one last time.

"Bravo you have your route planned out to the target?" Sergeant Major Yamada asked.

He had been a MACO for almost his entire life. While his family line had been security officers Yamada wanted more than that. It was tough convincing his family to allow him to join. His Japanese parents were very traditional by todays standards and wanted to keep the line of Starfleet security officers honorable. Joining the MACOs in what amounted to a dead end career wasn't honorable enough for them.

"Yes sir, during the debriefing we noticed the the planetary defense phaser grid is a standard Federation design. If that's the case as long as it doesn't fire we'll be able to get into it and shut it down by going through the unused cooling ducts located near the edge of the facility. As long as the Hood keeps it's ass out of the line of fire we'll have that gun shut down by morning." The team leader said.

"Charlie?" Yamada asked.

"With any luck our contact on the planet will be at the meeting point. Other than that it's just getting there to meet him. Even if these guys want to secede from the Federation I don't see them organizing patrols or making a standing militia that's worth two shits." The other commander said.

"Good, once we figure out the source of the radiation at the edge of the city we'll meet back up at the extraction point and figure out what to do after that." Yamada said.

The other commanders saluted and moved off down the hillside with their troopers. Twelve men per squad. MACOs ran their organization contrary to the Federation's at every opportunity. Security officers ran in pairs, Mako's had teams of six or twelve. Starfleet ran into situations guns blazing, Mako's operated primarily through wet work and sabotage. The Federation abhorred Section thirty one, the Mako's worked hand in hand with them.

It was at Section thirty one's prompting that they even agreed to this mission. A separate part of Starfleet they often butted heads when either side needed the other. This often resulted in reluctant, sometimes outright refusal, to work with the other. Section thirty one was crucial in getting the gears moving when the two organizations interests aligned.

"How bad do you think it is?" Yamada said.

"Don't know. The goal is to observe for now." Tychus said as he approached the Sergeant major, "If it is what you're black ops boys said it was this planet is in for some rough shit with the best result."

"What's going to happen if the worst result occurs." Yamada asked.

"Everyone standing here now, dies." Tychus replied.

"That's a bit much don't you think?" Yamada said.

"When dealing with cultist infestation it really isn't. It's only been a few weeks though so we should be OK. It would be bad if an Inquisitor came through with us." Tychus said, "That would almost guarantee this planets burning."

"I studied enough history to know how bad inquisitors can be." Yamada replied, "The others should be far enough away by now, let's move out people."

With that the rest of the troopers began moving down with the two officers towards the gleaming lights of New Barossa.


	3. Chapter 3

Hakton VII

Planetary Phaser array

Team Bravo

"In position." The communicator stated as sergeant Phillip looked down on the array.

It was supposed to be one of six over the entire planet. The colony was far too small to warrant having full defenses so they only had to deal with one weapon system designed to trade blows with ships. Larger planets had dozens arrays and they were often interlinked with each other to provide fire support for each other. All the colony had was one and it was located at the outskirts of the city.

It was a large complex designed to be self sufficient and separate from the city. It was almost a small city in it's own right compared to some of the other settlements on the planet. Buildings dotted the perimeter of the main phaser and they ranged from dorms and office buildings to the control centers for the gun itself. The entire area was surrounded by a simple fence designed more to keep animals and children out then determined intruders.

The main phaser array dominated the center of the compound. From their vantage point it looked like a giant ring held up by four massive support towers. The ring had four sections on it's interior that pointed inwards towards another smaller circle in the center. Phillip knew the design well having seen it several times during the debriefing. The outer circle generated and focused the energy, the inner ring fire the beam. The weapon itself was more powerful to help compensate for the fact that it was firing from the planet surface.

Philip wondered at the sight of the odd aura coming out of the center of the array. The facility met his expectations from the debriefing to a T except for the glow in the middle of the array. He wasn't sure what unnerved him more about it. The glow not being in the briefing or the way it almost seemed to beat like a heart.

"Detonate." Philip replied over the comm unit.

A large explosion flared up against the night sky at the far side of the facility. Immediately the alarms for the array went off and Phillip watched as people rushed out of the buildings towards the explosion. He had several members of his team stationed near the perimeter of the base and he could see them go to work as flashes of phaser fire matched the fire from the explosion.

"Moveout!" He said moving down the hill they had been waiting at.

They moved swiftly and silently towards the compound. The fence provided no barrier as they cut a hole and flooded through. Several guards had remained at their post but like the fence barely slowed them down as the MACO squad gunned them down mercilessly. Other Federation squads would try to disable their weapons with tachyon pulses or gamma fields. The MACO's telltale signature was that they would just shoot you and be done with it.

They moved up to the door and Phillip signaled his squad for a breach. Seconds later the door was smashed inwards and the team rushed the building. Moving up stairs they met little resistance as most guards and people had left to look at the explosion. The ease with which they moved through the building unnerved him however. Even with the explosion the number of people the squad had seen was far below what the base was supposed to have even with a skeleton crew.

He didn't have time to ponder where they were as the approached the command room. With a flick of a switch his gun shot out blue pulses of energy contrary to the angry red beams he shot before. The stun setting allowed them to take alive the engineers in charge of the beam that had been trying to see what was going on from the window. Three shots and three bodies hitting the floor stunned and they had managed to take the array's main command room.

"Fred, get those viruses uploaded into the firing program. Miles, Jenkins keep an eye on the door I don't know where everyone is but I want our asses covered in case they come back." Phillip said.

"I think I found those people sir." One of his troopers said pointing out of a window towards the array.

Phillip looked out at the grounds directly under the phasers, "The heck are they doing?" He asked aloud as he looked at them.

At least a hundred people had gathered around the center ring of the phaser array. They had formed their own circle seemed to be praying to the device above them. The glow he had seen before came from the center of the circle as a strange sphere shape floated in the center. He wasn't sure what it was but he could tell it was pulsing and likely alive.

"Virus uploaded, they're not hitting anything with this gun ever again." Fred said.

"Right, I don't know what that thing is but I want it dead. We move on their little cult circle men." Phillip said.

The rest of his squad nodded and they moved back through the building. By now no one stood in their way as they were all either taken out or at the other end of the base dealing with Philip's second squad's diversionary tactic. The layout of the building was simple enough and they were able to reach an exit facing the strange ritual at the center of the array. Moving out of the door they spread out of over the ground and moved into defensive positions around the circle of engineers, security and random civilians.

Philip raised his weapon into the air and fired off a shot. At times like these he wished he could have gotten one of the projectile weapons the guardsmen sometimes used. Their sound was superior when attempting to get peoples attention. If the people in the circle noticed his shot they didn't show it as they kept praying towards the strange flesh egg in the center.

"Hey! All of you listen up!" Philip shouted at the group.

One of the engineers nearest to him turned and looked over at him. He slowly broke away from the group and headed towards Philip who raised his weapon in response. It was once he got close he realized the man was saying something.

"The God… Our God… needs more… faith isn't enough… he needs… BLOOD!" He shouted before pulling a knife and rushing Phillip.

"Shit!" The commando said firing his phase rifle into the man.

As soon as the shot hit the man he jerked backward from the shock of the blast. The others, who had been concerned with their prayer, turned and watched their comrades body hit the floor with a thud. For a moment both parties held their place sizing each other up before the mass of people started screaming and running towards the commandos.

"Light em up!" Phillip said leveling his gun and firing off several shots.

The combat was short and brutal. From their positions the MACOs gunfire lit up the underside of the phaser array and the cultist fell one after another. Not a single one managed to even get close to the commandos as they mercilessly cut them down. Only in the quiet after the slaughter did Phillip realize what he and his squad just did.

"Damn… the Federation isn't going to… like… this…" His complaint died on his lips as he watched the bodies begin to glow.

The purple aura surrounding them floated upwards and glided towards the egg at the center of the circle. Each trail of light that hit it caused the fleshy egg to twitch and spasm as they merged with it. Eventually all the bodies had given the egg their light and were left dark and lifeless on the ground.

The Egg had apparently gotten enough of whatever it was taking from them as it started to squirm and shift. Suddenly whatever held it up in the air failed and the fleshy thing crashed to the ground. Where it landed it continued to spasm and Philip could distinctly see something moving inside.

In the next moment an arm burst forth from the egg and grabbed the ground. It pulled itself on the ground and a great cracking could be heard. like the sound of a bat hitting bone the creature inside started breaking out of it's container. Soon another arm burst out followed quickly by another. The three arms began to rip and tear at the shell and pull the pieces of fleshy protection away as it broke free.

Now Philip could get a clear look at the creature and it went against everything he viewed as sensible and reasonable. Three arms adorned it's body one looking like it was meant to have bat like wings, the other two resembling misshapen reptile limbs. It's legs had a wet and sticky mess of fur covering them and feet that looked like someone wanted to give a bird toes. It's body was a matted chaotic mass of fur, feathers, and scales with a half formed shell upon it's back. The head of the creature had no humanoid features but simply a single eye that was located above a gaping chasm of teeth attached to a neck that was stretched beyond reason and flopped the head about like a some twisted puppet.

Philip could only stare in shock as he watched the thing try to move with it's ungainly appendages. His mind was screaming at him to do something but his body wasn't responding to anything he thought. When the beast turned and the two met eyes he finally snapped back to attention and the training drilled into him finally broke through.

"KILL IT!" He shouted.

His voice triggered several things amongst those present. The first was his squad opening fire with everything they had. Phaser blasts and rifle fire lit up the area for a second time as the squad worked to murder the abomination. The second thing that happened was the creature, startled by Philip's voice, let out a scream and charged the creatures now shooting it.

Philip was no fool and knew to bolt out of the way as the shambling mass of twisted flesh crashed by the area he was just standing. It's limbs ill suited to moving nevertheless allowed it great speed as it blew through the squad. The head shot out and bit down on one of Philip's men while it's hands gripped the ground and tried to orient itself towards another mass of commandos.

"Limbs! Aim for the damn thing's limb!" Philip said.

He watched as his squad still operated professionally despite the unreality of what they were fighting. Combined fire at what the men guessed was the things shoulders blew chunks of flesh off it's body and in a short few volleys one of the creature's arms was blown clean out of it's sockets.

As the creature writhed and screamed in pain Philip saw one of his men move into position with a heavy weapon, "Duck and cover Iso Disintegrator!" He shouted moving behind one of the pillars.

The trooper leveled the rocket launcher like device towards the creature as it rolled around in pain. He slid down a visor over his face and pressed a button on the side of the gun. A loud whine could be heard before he fired off a shot. There was no recoil but the energy burst came out like a flare and anyone not wearing eyewear was blinded by the shot.

The energy blast hit the creature dead center and the commandos were rewarded with a large sphere of energy exploding off of it. The creature howled in pain and a large section of it's torso was simply disintegrated by the weapon. Yet despite a third of it's body simply de-atomizing it kept moving and shrieking.

"HIT THE BASTARD AGAIN!" Philip screamed as he watched the creature start moving towards them again.

The second shot was far more accurate hitting the creature at the connecting point of it's neck and it's body. The explosion managed to destroy all of the creature's neck, most of it's remaining torso, and almost all of it's head. WIth it's mouth gone all it could do now was twitch and spasm in it's last death throes. Even as they watched it Philip realized it was still somehow trying to reach them with it's last mutated arm.

"Coup de gras! NOW!" He shouted as the twitching mass continued to approach.

The last blast disintegrated all that remained of the creature leaving only the broken shell and it's blood trails left as any proof it existed. The commando's didn't have time to celebrate as they heard shouts coming from the far side of the facility. They knew their distraction was no longer drawing attention after what they just did.

"MACOs Let's beat feet!" He said shouldering his rifle and heading towards their entrance point.

Team Alpha

Yamada eyed the barn from the edge of the forest where the team waited. Tychus was next to him and peering through a night scope along side him. From what Yamada could see it was just like any of the colony farms that popped up during the first stages of living on a new planet. The only thing that bothered him was that the lights in the barn were still on.

"Opinions?" He asked.

"I think your Federation is far too uptight for its own good?" Tychus said.

He adjusted the fitting on his lasgun again after getting a good view of the barn. Unlike the other members of the team he constantly tore down and rebuilt his lasgun. Years of training had made it second nature and his hands often did it of their own accord. The team, which had initially been impressed with it, now took it as par for the course regarding the guardsman.

"On the farm please." Yamada said with exasperation.

While his team had spent a lot of time working with the Imperial guard they still were Federation citizens. The much more open and abrasive troopers did rub them the wrong way from time to time. From what he had heard from them, however, was that their own unique brand of guardsmen were fairly unique in their open mockery. He had heard that many other guards were just as serious and uptight as the Federation.

"Looks like something got dragged into the barn." Tychus said, "If what we heard from your spec ops group is true than you guys HAVE to follow my orders when we get in there."

Yamada glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, "That's not an option Tychus." He said.

"No it is and it has to be… what we're dealing with here can spiral out of control so damn quickly that it's not even funny." He said somberly, "If the intel is correct we're not going to have the luxury of doing this the Federation way. You know this is how it has to go down. I've dealt with this shit before, you guys haven't. It doesn't matter much anyways I'll mostly defer to your judgement in normal procedures just… when I say shoot don't question, just do."

Yamada watched the barn with his normal eyes for several long minutes before finally nodding, "Alright, you guys got that? If Tychus says shoot you do it." He said to the rest of the squad behind him.

There was no need for him to hear any confirmation from his troops. They had served together long enough that he knew they'd listen to him, even if that required them to listen to Tychus. It helped that Tychus had made some good waves within the MACO organization with his demeanor and sagely advice.

It had been a long time since the last large scale war the Federation took part in. The Klingon war was mostly a memory and the Federation moved to a much more peaceful role. Finding people to help train men for combat when none of the trainers themselves had combat experience was getting difficult until the Rogue trader showed up. An entire ship full of people that had, if their statements were to be believed, been in combat from the day they were children drew the attention of the MACO organization immediately.

Breaking out of his thoughts he signaled his squad forward and the commandos moved across the field. As they moved Yamada couldn't help but feel unease at the lack of any guards, patrols, or anything that indicated that the colony was really prepared for open revolt against the Federation. Making it half way the squad moved towards a stone wall and took cover behind the rock barrier.

"Yamada, calm down." Tychus said seeing the major's obvious unease, "We all know it's a trap, the best we can do is move into it knowing that."

"I don't like that line of thinking." He replied.

"Course you don't but one of those combat skills you value in us guardsmen so much is the ability to deal with shit situations. And the way to deal with that is to suck it up and just accept the situation is shit." Tychus said with a smile.

Yamada didn't replied instead opting to signal his squad to begin moving again. They approached the barn from the far side away from the house. It was a windowless building so they knew whatever was inside wasn't likely to see them approach. As the squad moved alongside the edge of the building they split off into two groups to approach from both ends in a pincer move.

As the two squads edged closer and closer to the front of the barn they both were shocked when they heard a voice from within address them, "Come now, all this sneaking must have made you tired and fatigued. Please come inside so we can all talk like reasonable creatures." The voice said it's sound scratching it's way into their ears and heads.

Yamada wasn't sure what to make of it until he saw Tychus' face. His teeth were gritted and his eyes held a fury that he hadn't seen on the man at all. Before he could order the squad to move in the guardsman walked ahead and turned the corner with his weapon at the ready. Hoping to avoid a clusterfuck Yamada quickly signaled his men to move in and he followed Tychus around the corner to face the voice addressing them.

"Ahh that explains my pet dying at the array… we have another immigrant here." The Tzeentch daemon said with a smile, "Tell me are you part of Q's move or perhaps my lord had deemed you worthy of taking part in their game."

"Kill it." Tychus replied without a hint of remorse firing a shot directly at the creature's head.

The squad responded with efficiency and duty as barn lit up with the laser fire. Yamada didn't know what Tychus knew about the strange bird-gargoyle creature before him but his own instincts were telling him to do the same thing. The creature was unnatural to his eyes and in his mind and gut he knew the thing had to die.

The shots streaked through the air but as far as Yamada could tell none of them were hitting the mark. Every shot simply hit a spherical shield around the demon. He never stopped firing, however, even after the demon aimed it's clawed hand at the second squad of troopers and let loose with a blast of multicolored fire.

The flames struck two of the commandos too slow to get out of the way as the others dived for cover in the barn. The two men screamed as the flames enveloped them. From what Yamada could see they weren't being burned, rather their bodies began twisting and warping. Extra limbs, appendages, and even things like eyes sprouted from where the flames burned and in a moment the two men were simply masses of twisting warping flesh.

"Isometric Disintegrator, Take cover!" One man shouted leveling the heavy weapon at the demon.

Fully charged and set to a setting one further than disintegrate the man fired off the blast of energy at the daemon. The bolt of energy hit the shield, like the laser fire, and exploded with a blast that kicked up dust, dirt, and piles of grass stored in the barn. Tychus and Yamada both took cover behind the wall with their squad as they waited for the dust to settle.

Their hopes of the thing being dead were dashed a second later, "Such a pity when diplomacy fails. I was looking forward to showing you the wonders of CHAOS!" The demon said before an explosion shook the opposite end of the barn.

Yamada looked past the edge of the wall and saw the second squad laying in pieces on the other end of the barn. The explosion had blown a large chunk of the wall away and left a crater the size of a shuttle. From what he could see the demon stood in the center of the building completely unharmed.

He was pulled back over by Tychus, "Listen to me," He whispered urgently, "Get to the contact point, get you men, and get out of here! Once you're on that ship level the colony!"

"You can't-" Yamada began.

"What are you humans, whispering over there…" The demon's voice asked as it approached their wall.

"This place is done for! Get your men out now!" He said readying his gun, "GO! I'll buy you some time." With that he turned and walked around the corner.

All Yamada heard was, "Ahh the guardsman wants to face me." Before he turned and ran along with the remains of his squad.

Tychus looked up at the demon as it lorded over him. It's neck twisted and watched him occasionally glancing towards where Yamada and the other commandos once were. Eventually it focused its attention on the man before him.

"Such bravery found in you humans… truly admirable. What is it that's driving you to throw your life away." It asked.

"Fear… hope… maybe even senseless courage… but mostly cuz I can't stand to let something so ugly live." Tychus said aiming his gun up at the creatures head and pulling the trigger.

Yamada wasted no time getting his men away from the barn and heading towards the city. He knew shit had hit the fan and could only hope his other squads were still alive. He had never seen anything like the creature in the barn and his gut gnawed at him knowing he left Tychus to it's strange powers.

His remorse was cut short by a communication, "Yamada, shit's hitting the fan here. The planet defense array is down but something was there that wasn't natural!" A second communication came in the next second, "This is Charlie, the whole city's gone mad! All the people are stark raving mad! We have to get out of here!"

Yamada hit his communicator and triggered it's comm override, "This is Yamada we're getting out of here, secure a beam out point and hold position there until the Hood is within range!" He said before signaling the Federation ship, "Hood this is Yamada we're in full retreat, the Phaser array is down, move in for extraction!" He said

"This is hood, roger that Yamada we're on our way." The communicator responded.

Half way between the farm and the city Yamada held up his squad and looked back towards the barn. He could see flashes of light emanating from inside. He knew going back was suicide but his consciences wasn't going to remain silent. A voice from one of his squad spoke up behind him.

"Sir… we can't leave Tychus with that thing…" He said.

"I know…" He said before signaling the hood again, "Hood do you have commander Tychus' comm badge location?"

"Yes, but it's surrounded by some sort of radiation. We're attempting to analyze it so we can get a sensor lock but we're having issues-" The captain replied.

"Never mind that, I need you to scour the area. The entire cause of this mess in at his location. Burn the area to the ground!" Yamada said.

"But what about-" The captain began.

"I said scour the area captain!" Yamada shouted into the communicator.

He didn't hear a response initially. He did, however, feel the distinct pull of the transporter on his molecules as the Hood reached transportation range. His last sight before the glow of the transporter took him was a red glow and a beam of pure light.

Tychus didn't have the luxury of knowing that he was going to die, as he was held aloft in the air, chaotic energy flowing through him. His body had been twisted and mutated beyond recognition and it was his mind the demon was trying to break now. All he knew was in the next second he heard the demon scream some unholy blasphemies cursing his master and the people of the planet. Then his body was bathed in light.


	4. Chapter 4

USS Hood

"I don't care what you saw down there Sergeant Major. I will not just burn the colony to the ground no matter how many of your men you've convinced." Captain Sullivan said.

He had been talking with the MACO's for the better part of an hour now. Yamada was the last one left to talk to and even he, a decorated combat officer, was saying the same thing as his subordinates. Every single one had the same tale about monsters and demons that all sounded rather cliche to him.

"Regardless of what you think happened down there we are not going to open fire on a Federation colony just because you and your men got spooked by something." He said.

Yamada let out a sigh and rubbed his temple. The interrogation had been going on for the better part of an hour now. Normally he'd call it a debriefing but the armed guards escorting him and his men to the cargo hold then taking them one by one to give their accounts told him otherwise. He wasn't going to assume it was captain Sullivan as he was a dyed in the wool Federation officer and unlikely to be this through in the debriefing. He was going to assume it was Section thirty one and their overall paranoia.

Even the room he was in felt like an interrogation chamber rather than a room for a debriefing. A single light over a table with him sitting in a chair at one end. The light specifically designed to prevent him from getting a good view of the place. It was only due to Sullivan pacing about the room that he even knew it was him talking.

"I don't care that you don't believe us, all I care about is the fact that everyone down there is infected, corrupted, irradiated or whatever other word you want to call it to avoid saying what it is. They're all part of that cult and at the rate they managed to convert the population centers it's as dangerous as the most virulent strain of virus." Yamada said.

"We've dealt with brainwashing before. Even cults and toxic religions we've had dealings with so your arguments for destroying the colony aren't getting very far." Sullivan replied.

"Those other cults never had the ability to warp reality like it was made out of playdough!" Yamada replied standing up from his chair, "You saw the reports, you even have some of our footage from the night visors we had on! You're still denying that what you saw down there was natural?"

"Your visors data weren't that useful as most of the data we recovered from them was damaged during your mission. My science officers tell me it was the radiation on the planet that you encountered. Messed up the information rather thoroughly. Regardless we went over what we could from it and all I saw from it was your squad getting far too eager to shoot a couple of Hakton Kodiaks. They're big and rather intimidating but hardly an unnatural threat. I think you and your men might just be a little too eager to fire your guns if you ask me." Sullivan said.

"Why you pompous…." Before he could finish Yamada caught himself and took a few calming breaths to keep his cool, "Those were not bears and even if they were it doesn't explain why the people tried to murder us the entire time."

Sullivan coughed uncomfortably and moved to the table to sit down, "Yes about that… you and your men are likely going to face an inquiry into that incident. While your report says they attempted to kill you your data that we recovered throws that into question. Then there's the issue of unnecessary force. If everything you say is true then even if the colonists tried to kill you there's no reason that your weapons had to have been set to kill. Your men's overeager bloodlust accounted for almost one hundred and fifty deaths not counting any that might have come about from the destruction of both the farm and the defense array. There is much for you and your men to be held accountable for… I hope you're prepared to defend yourself during the hearing." Sullivan said, "On the other hand you'll be happy to know we will at least quarantine the planet until an investigation team can arrive."

Yamada listened to the captains accusation then felt his eyes close as he realized that it was very much going to be a show trial. To appease the families of the people that had been killed on the planet. He wagered that he and his men were likely going to be held accountable for the entire population regardless of whether or not they were the cause of their deaths. The only solace he could take from this is that the bureaucratic nightmare that would arise from this show trial would keep the planet under lockdown for years.

"Then am I going to be escorted to a cell?" He asked.

"Yes, please come along quietly." Sullivan said as two security officers stepped into the room.

He went along as requested of him. He knew fighting would be useless as there was no place he could go. The only thing that could get him off the ship would be the shuttles and they didn't have the speed to let him get very far. Then there was the issue of his men. He knew, with a sinking feeling, that he would have to tell Lionus about what happened to Tychus.

The guardsman was well liked by the MACOs and Yamada had no doubts it was likely the same with Lionus' men. As he sat down he took some relief in the knowledge that he was unlikely to be the one breaking the news to Lionus as his trial would force the Federation to send word to him about the mission. Even if they didn't his own organization would once they heard about it.

It was a short walk to the holding cell and as he sat down inside the small room he saw the lights along the edge of the threshold light up. He tapped a knuckle along the edge of the force field that had been put up and watched the air around his hand light up with the shields energy. With a sigh he sat down on the wall mounted bed and watched his two escorts leave the room.

Left alone all he could do was lay back on the bed and watch the ceiling. Federation jail cells were more accommodating than most but they still had nothing within them to pass the time. Even the Federation prisons often gave you work or activities to keep you occupied. The cells lacked even that luxury.

He had lost track of the time he wasted just staring at the ceiling when he heard the sound of the door to the cells open. Looking over he saw a man walk in wearing what looked to be a starfleet uniform, but unlike the normal cloth clothes worn by everyone else this seemed to be made of a type of leather Yamada couldn't identify.

"Greetings Sergeant Major how are you holding up?" He asked.

"As well as to be expected… I'm surprised to see one of you down here. I honestly didn't expect your organization to find me important enough to visit." He said sitting up on his bed.

"Well your actions-" The man began before Yamada held up a hand stopping him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but how can I be sure you're actually one of them?" He asked, "Normally you and your's tend to appear out of no where, dim the lights, and go through a whole thing about how secretive you all are."

This earned him a chuckle from his visitor, "That right there is why you've earned yourself a visit." He said reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out a small thin device which he held in front of him for Yamada to see. It was cylindrical in shape and had several glowing lines over it that gave of a dark blue color. No more than two inches in height it looked little more than an ostentatious pen.

Yamada knew what the device was despite it's innocuous appearance.. A small trinket that when carried created a highly dense and subtle jamming field around the wearer. It allowed for unimpeded movement on a station, base, or starship without the sensors detecting or picking up your presence. It was a device exclusively used by section thirty one agents. It also allowed for an impromptu ID between members.

"Yes sorry about that but if there's one thing you guys have taught me it's never a bad thing to be too careful." Yamada said.

"Indeed, which is why we're going to work with you to get you out of this sticky situation." The man said.

"You are?" Yamada said with disbelief.

"Yes. The entire reason you're here is due to the Federation's lack of trust regarding the Rogue Trader. You and your MAKOs made for a good intermediary between both us and the Federation with captain Darrius." The man said.

"Why not just do what you do with all the other races?" Yamada asked.

He was genuinely curious for once. Section thirty one was almost legendary amongst the spy circles able to hold their own against groups like the Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar. It seemed unlikely to him that they would need to go to such lengths as to use an intermediary. The more people involved in a situation the more likely there would be a screw up along the way.

"Like the creatures you saw down on the planet captain Darrius has things of his own that make infiltration rather difficult." The man said.

Yamada suppressed a shudder when he realized the man was referring to the psychics. "Wait what about the planet?" He asked.

"It will go under quarantine for now. Part of your mission will be to utterly convince them that it needs to be isolated." The man said.

"My mission?" Yamada asked.

"Yes, we are going to infect you with a virus and let you break out of the cell." The man replied.

"That seems… reasonable. Should I assume this is going to be a lethal disease?" Yamada asked.

The man pulled out a pill and placed it on the small slide next to the force field. The pill was then slid into the cell with Yamada. He picked it up and stared at it for a few seconds before looking back over at the agent.

"It's only lethal if it remains untreated for the better part of a week. You'll be treated by the end of the day. Your mission is to break out in an hour and make it to one of the shuttles. From there you will fly to the fourth moon of Hakton and await your contact while remaining out of sight. From there they will get you over to Darrius and his group. The rest of your men will be sent over when the initial chaos of this mess had died down." The man said.

"Why an hour from now?" Yamada asked.

"Because you need to take the pill and start showing symptoms by the time you escape. A little fear of an interplanetary plague will do the Federation some good I figure." The man said before turning and heading out the door.

Yamada watched him go for a moment before popping the pill into his mouth. A gulp and swallow and it was on it's way into his digestive tract. It occurred to him that it might have been a good idea to ask what exactly was the disease he was going to be stricken with. He knew that he'd come down with symptoms in about an hour but what those symptoms were he'd have to find out.

Stretches were what occupied his time as he waited for his symptoms to hit. When they did they hit like a cargo hauler. He was reaching up over his head with his arms to keep them limber when he felt a stabbing shock in his gut. Doubling over in pain he felt his vision start to swim and something work it's way up from his stomach. Rushing over into a corner his stomach's contents soon found themselves decorating his cell corner.

The door to the holding cells opened and two security officers stepped in to see what the noise was about. Even though he had just thrown up he was still aware and able to move he flopped backwards onto the bed and let out his bed sickly groan he could manage. Playing up the part never hurt matters.

The guards acted in a predictable manner calling the doctor then approaching his cell. They were smart enough not to enter but when the doctor arrived they lowered the force field like clockwork. As the doctor approached Yamada made his move.

A swift deck to the man's jaw and he fell like a sack of potatoes. Pulling off his bed's sheets he threw them at the nearest guard while he bum rushed the other. A solid shoulder tackle and the security officer went down as well. By now the second guard had removed the sheet only for Yamada to grab his nearest arm and twist it around. A loud cracking noise and the guard went down. The other had tried to get up only for Yamada to firmly plant his foot into his crotch.

After removing all three men's comm badges he headed out the door and into the hallway. As he was about to move towards the shuttle bay he was hit with another bout of dizziness and felt his vision swim as well. He stumbled forward and hit the wall opposite the door as he tried to steady himself. Adding another batch of puke to the floor of the hallway he slapped the side of his head and focused as best he could.

After a few moments of deep breaths he stood back up and began moving through the corridor again. He left the guards phasers behind and out of reach choosing instead to rely on his knowledge of the ship. Reaching the end of one of the many hallways he kneeled down and pulled out one of the floor panels. Sliding down he moved himself into the jefferies tubes before sliding the floor panel back in place.

Climbing down the ladder into the bowels of the ship he heard the sound of the red alert going off and realized he was running on borrowed time. Sliding down the ladder the rest of the way he hit the bottom and began to crawl through the small circular tubes that ran throughout the ship. He wondered why they hadn't just beamed him back into the brig but chose to believe that it was due to section thirty one blocking their attempts at capturing him. The idea that even the Hood's crew was too inept to do something so basic was just too sad a thought to think about.

Several long minutes of moving through the jefferies tubes and he reached his first goal, the nearest cargo bay. Kicking off the screen blocking his way he climbed down into the room behind several of the large boxes piled up. Slipping out from there he moved towards the door only to find it blocked by a lone security guard.

"Maybe you shouldn't have rejected me for the MACOs Sergeant Yamada…" He said holding up his phaser.

Yamada paused for a moment while he tried to figure out what the man was talking about, "I'm sorry… what?" He asked.

"The… the MACOs…" The man said awkwardly, "I applied and you rejected me… Well the shoes on the other foot now!"

"Sorry?" Yamada said, "I don't know who you are."

"WHAT? I applied a few months ago, you said I was too-" He never got a chance to finish as Yamada closed the distance between them in.

A quick disarm and elbow to the jaw and the man went down much like the doctor. Unlike the doctor he remained conscious which required Yamada to administer a shoulder dislocation much to the man's regret. Pulling out the power core on the guards phaser he tossed the now useless weapon back down to him before heading to the door.

"I still don't know who you are but if that was any indication of your skills then be glad I saved you the suffering at the hands of our training camp." He said walking through the door.

From where he was it was only a few corridors before he could get to the shuttle bay. Holding the phaser power core in his hand he started adjusting several components on it. Reaching the door he waited for it to slide open before tossing the core into the room.

It bounced a few times before sliding to a stop. The engineers and security officers in the room had just enough time to realize it was there before the thing let off a whining sound then exploded. The detonation wasn't large or even dangerous, but it was just enough of a distraction for Yamada to rush the two guards with phasers. Two broken hands later and the guards were on the floor with Yamada holding their weapons.

Several hours later

Starfleet Runabout

Yamada walked back towards the pilot seat from the back of the shuttle. He had just finished a second bout of hurling and was cursing the section thirty one agent. Sitting down in the pilot chair he looked up at the dark blue sky above him. He had landed his ship on the fourth moon like he was told and had spent most of his time trying to deal with the symptoms of the disease he was given.

The shuttle's lights had been turned off along with the majority of it's systems. Yamada had made sure to keep a low profile on the planet as he waited for his contact to show. His hiding spot, knowledge of Starfleet tracking methods, and general ability to keep a low profile from his MACO training allowed him to take his ease as he waited on the moon.

The fourth moon of Hakton was an unintresting satellite of the planet. Low atmosphere that didn't allow for travel outside the shuttle. The limited plant life was mostly moss, lichen, and other various hardy plants that sustained themselves off the radiation and light from the sun. Like many moons it was a giant rock in space that wasn't even in a useful position for a communication hub or tower. It was a very good hiding place however.

The surface was pockmarked with numerous craters that formed occasionally as the moon made it's way around Hakton. This meant Yamada had plenty of nooks and crannies to land his shuttle in and wait. The virus he was infected with was a troublesome sort constantly making him nauseous but without any more food in his stomach he didn't have to worry about throwing up. This gave him plenty of time to watch the scanners.

The Hood hadn't chased him much after he had stolen the shuttle. Either they hadn't got wind of his theft or they figured he wasn't able to get very far in such a small ship. After a few minutes, and after he hid the vessel, the scanners lit up with signals of the Hood looking for him. Even basic contact with the crew likely infected them and once the ship found out he had been carrying a plague level sickness they treated his escape with all the concern they should have been showing from the start.

Unfortunately for them Yamada was trained in starfleet standard operating procedure and knew very well how to hide from them. The fact that there was limited oversight on training their people and keeping them in line after they left starfleet had created a lot of problems for the organization. Plenty of situations that were made more difficult due to someone Starfleet was facing having trained in their academy.

"Oh the woes of standardized education…" Yamada said watching the Hood expand it's search in a vain attempt to track him, "It occurs to me if Starfleet gave more legitimacy to section thirty one they might be able to help with these little problems."

He let out a sigh of relief as he saw the signature of the Hood warp off into space. Flicking a few switches the lights inside the runabout lit up and the other control panels began to glow with life. As soon as the communication array had finished powering up he heard it chime with the sound of an incoming message. Curious at the sound Yamada checked the scanner again only to see nothing showing up.

Activating the communicator he waited for his contact to speak, "... Captain Yamada are you there?" The voice came through.

"Yes this is Yamada, I don't see you on scanners however." He replied checking the readings a second time.

"Don't worry you won't, hold please." The voice said.

In the next moment he felt the telltale signs of a transporter and felt his body reform on one of the many pads on the ship that contacted him. The room he appeared in was Federation in design but the coloration was off. It was a far darker hue and the lighting was also dimmer than a standard Federation ship. It didn't take long for Yamada to realize the telltale signs of a section thirty one ship.

"Dark lighting, black walls, and I arrive to find myself standing at gunpoint." Yamada said looking at the three people before him, two of which had guns drawn on him, "I'm guessing this a section thirty one ship."

"You'd be correct." The center officer said walking forward with a hypospray.

A quick jab and Yamada could already feel the effects hit his body. His vision cleared slightly, his nasua started to fade, and he even felt his limbs stop aching. The officer didn't say anything else but signaled with a wave of his hand to follow him. The two guards moved to the door and stood at attention letting the MAKO commander pass by with little issue.

"So what now?" He asked as he followed the man.

"Well you're going to take a day or two to recover from the effects of the virus, then we're going to drop you off at a location for Darrius' men to pick you up." He said.

"This ship, it has a cloaking device? I didn't think the Federation had managed to reverse engineer them yet." Yamada said looking about as the walked down the hallways.

"We managed to secure one of our own from some… volunteers… and we've fitted it to our own ship. Far easier than trying to build the technology." The man said as he stopped at a door and let it slide open, "This is where you'll be staying, I know you won't like it but I would ask that you stay within the confines of the room. We don't want you wandering around and possibly giving away secrets once you end up in Darrius' care."

"What like that you have a cloaking device?" Yamada said with a smirk.

Before the door closed the man addressed him one last time, "We're a spy organization, it would be a bigger secrete to find out we DIDN'T have a cloaking device." He said as the door closed and then locked Yamada in the room.

With a sigh the MACO sat down on the bed in the rather spartan room and wondered what he would do to pass the time.

Author's Notes: My apologies for the delay in content. I recently had my schedule demolished and it's proving difficult to get back into the habit of writing.


End file.
